The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called for a halt to deadly assaults on medical facilities and personnel in conflict zones.

The independent aid agency, which delivers vital supplies and collects the wounded and dead from battlefields, said today the alarming rise in attacks against hospitals, health-care workers, and ambulances deprived millions of people of treatment.

In a new report, the ICRC documented security incidents in 16 countries -- including Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Columbia -- that disrupted delivery of health care.

ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord said most of these incidents were deliberate attacks violating international humanitarian law.